


Families Like This

by words_reign_here



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Miscommunication, Original Female Character - Freeform, Scott McCall & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, but only for a second, cuz i hate that, dad derek, sterek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-01-22
Packaged: 2019-03-08 07:05:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13453017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/words_reign_here/pseuds/words_reign_here
Summary: Stiles will not hear of him and Scott impersonating a certain brother team who cross the country looking to pick fights with ghosts and demons because they don't.They solve cases and move on and Malia and Lydia are there too, to help them and it's all great and fine and dandy (Stiles would like to think, anyway) until they stumble on a potential case where a werewolf might be snacking a little too readily on college students.Then, Stiles is face to face with a reality he never even considered.Which is saying a lot, all things considered.





	Families Like This

**Author's Note:**

> Guys. It's been so long I forgot how to tag stuff. If you see a tag that I missed, drop me a line. 
> 
> Anyway, this bad boy has been sitting on my computer since sometime around season 4? 5? In either case, season six never happened. Uhhhh... I think that's it? Have fun.

“Arizona in August. Fantastic idea, Stiles.” Scott said and wiped his face. “Fan-fucking-tastic.”

“Because I'm having an amazing time too.” Stiles said. He handed Scott a fake ASU ID. Scott took it from him and glared. “Like I have control over the weather and where people are getting attacked. You're right, Scotty.”

“We had that ghost in Minnesota.” Scott reminded him.

“Yeah and Lydia and Malia had that one. Which left us with the attacks _here_. You want Lydia and Malia handling the attacks here? Remember LSU last year? No thanks buddy.” Stiles snapped back. “We're looking for the Center for Medieval and Renaissance studies.” He said and looked around. The sun was beating down on them and Stiles knew he was going to burn later. He stared longingly at the students who had the forethought to bring water bottles with them.

“There.” Scott said and pointed to a tall building that rose out of the cement like an offense to the desert itself. The glass was reflective and they set out at a faster pace than Stiles was comfortable. But when they entered the building, they both sighed at the blast of air conditioning and made for a vending machine and bought outrageously priced water. They each drank one and then bought another. Stiles caught sight of a few of the students smirking at them, since they were obviously new to the area. Stiles glared at them. They went into the bathroom and Stiles pulled out a piece of paper from the bag slung over his shoulder. He studied it as Scott splashed water on his face then did the same.

“Her class should have ended. Iman Santiago.” Stiles said to Scott as they left the bathroom.

“Fourth floor. Room 444.” A guy said as he passed Stiles and Scott. “God help you both if you are looking for an extension.” He continued his zombie walk past the two of them, his eyes glued on the doors behind them.

“Jesus.” Stiles muttered.

“Makes you miss college?” Scott asked and Stiles shook his head.

“I don't think a professor ever made me look like that.”

Scott hadn't gone to college. He had decided against it and apprenticed with Deaton instead, taking over the practice and almost singlehandedly protecting Beacon Hills with only Liam at his side. Until he had been pulled into the supernatural world of Berkeley when Stiles was kidnapped. Scott and Stiles had teamed up and it was a year of their lives hunting down the assholes that took Stiles and tortured him until Scott rescued him.

And then-

And then-

And then-

And then it was nine years later and they were still hunting things. Stiles had graduated by the skin of his teeth while taking online courses and now one case led to another and Scott watched some stupid show on TV that he swore he and Stiles were emulating.

Stiles refused to watch it on principle.

Malia and Lydia were up north, doing almost the same thing but with Lydia's inheritance, they were able to travel by plane and keep a life in Chicago.

Stiles sighed with envy again.

They took the elevator up to the fourth floor and found the lecture hall.

“So, apparently she's kind of a hard ass, so I'll go first.” Scott muttered.

Stiles nodded and followed Scott in.

The lecture hall was built like a stadium and Stiles had to fight his first instinct to go up into one of the seats. There was only one other person in the hall, a child that was scribbling fiercely on a notebook.

Professor Santiago did not project an air of intimidation. In fact, she was shorter than Scott's mom, her hair pulled up into a messy bun. She was dressed in what had to be the uniform of the frumpy professor; ill fitting slacks, an overly large shirt and weird costume jewelry. Stiles was pretty sure that he could charm her and Scott wouldn't need to pull out the puppy eyes. He stayed behind Scott anyway.

“Professor Santiago?” Scott called out in a pleasant voice.

She turned and Stiles had seen too many makeup tutorials with Malia to know that this woman had potential. She could have put on a bit of makeup and been _stunning_. Without it, she was still beautiful.

Scott stilled next to him and took a deep breath.

Santiago looked to the boy in the front row who was still scribbling something in a notebook and he looked up at her and the glance they exchanged was too knowing for Stiles' taste. It was weird because the kid couldn't have been more than ten.

Scott struggled to find a reason why he found a kid that young _weird_. He liked kids, he wanted a half dozen of his own. But this kid was- different. It was the shape of his face or his hair or his eyes or the arrogance on his young face reminded Scott of someone.

“You aren't in my classes and the add/drop period has passed.” She said in a dismissive tone. “Whatever it is that you need, I do not have the time to accommodate you.”

Clearly, Professor Santiago was not one to waste time.

She even turned her back on them.

On an alpha and his emissary.

Stiles and Scott exchanged a look.

“Which of the following sixteenth-century works of English literature was translated into the English language after its first publication in Latin?” The boy asked suddenly, looking down at his notebook. Then he continued, “Marlowe's _Doctor Faustus_ , Shakespeare's _King Lear_ , More's _The History of King Richard III_ , Shakespeare's _Sonnets_ , or More's _Utopia_?”

“That's a good one.” Santiago said, in the first kind tone she had used since Scott and Stiles had entered the room.

“Faustus.” Stiles said confidently.

Santiago turned and the boy looked at Stiles with undisguised disgust.

“ _Utopia_.” The boy said, sounding offended.

“No.” Stiles said and pulled out his phone.

“Professor, we are actually here on a different matter.” Scott said and approached her slowly.

Santiago was looking down at a book in front of her and back at the board before she sighed and looked up at Scott. He couldn't help but notice how tired she looked.

“Zane, darling, spell check this for me, would you?” She said and gestured at the notes she had on the board.

“Yep.” He said and leapt over the desk easily.

Far too easily for a boy of ten.

Stiles hadn't seen but Scott did and neither the boy or Santiago looked surprised at his antics. Scott really looked at Santiago, at how ill fitting her clothes were, at the large diamond on her finger, her clear skin, her shrewd eyes. She wore contacts but the brown of her eyes were her natural color. She was dressing fifteen years older than her age and if Scott had to guess, he would say that she was their age.

“Well?” She prompted.

“We were here about the rumors of the werewolf attacks.” Scott said, cutting the bullshit. He listened to their heartbeats but they remained steady, not even Zane giving away anything.

Santiago's eyes crinkled and it reminded Scott of the Hale siblings. They hadn't seen Cora in two years and Derek since he left their Beacon Hills. Then Santiago snorted and covered her face with her hand.

“You know where the door is. Thank you, for wasting my time.” She said and snatched up a dry erase marker and made to turn around.

“Zane here is something, isn't he? Is he the one that you're protecting?” Scott asked, taking a step forward. It was a dangerous bet, pushing this close to another wolf's mother. Scott knew from personal experience.

But Santiago remained relaxed and her heartbeat _slowed_. She tilted her head at Scott and she was baring her teeth.

“Is that what you’re smelling, Scott? Another wolf in the area? What does Stiles say?” She asked and glanced at Stiles who was scrolling through his phone.

 _They hadn't told her their names,_ Scott thought suddenly.

“ _Fuck_ , it is Utopia.” Stiles said and put his phone away.

Scott turned to him, not even surprised anymore.

“Yeah, your kid is something. But neither one of us is picking up any kind of wolf.” Stiles said and looked at Santiago. “Doesn't mean he's not. There are way to train yourself to not give yourself away.”

“Mom, I need your chair.” Zane said, pulling the chair away from Santiago. She moved and Zane pulled her chair up the board and erased a word and wrote it in surprisingly neat handwriting.

“So, if Zane here might be a wolf, then who's to say I'm not?” Santiago asked.

Scott and Stiles exchanged a look.

“Ever seen a wolf protect its cub?” She continued and she smiled. She had dimples and her smile was genuine. Scott learned a long time ago not to underestimate women with dimples. “I have. I've seen a mother take on two alphas and tear them apart for coming after her cub.” She shook her head and laughed. “And you two aren't alphas, are you?”

Scott and Stiles exchanged another, far more significant, look.

“Daddy's here.” Zane said suddenly. He jumped off his chair and ran for the other door, on their side of the room. Scott went after him but was stopped by a steel clamp around his throat and he heard Stiles start to mutter something in Latin but was cut off.

Scott struggled with Santiago's hand around his throat and when he met her eyes, the challenging growl in his mouth died.

Her eyes were _purple_.

“I will tear you apart and send you back to your parents _in pieces_ before you touch my child.” Santiago said in the same conversational tone she had just used.

The door behind them opened and Scott stopped moving altogether and he felt a wave of confusion and then anger from Stiles.

He couldn't help but feel mostly anger.

Derek came in the door, Zane in his arms. He looked from Santiago who was still strangling Scott to Stiles, somewhere behind Scott and not speaking or struggling.

Derek sighed.

Dots danced in Scott's vision.

“I wish I could be surprised.” Derek said. Zane leaned into him and turned his back on Scott. His arms were wrapped around Derek's neck and the way they held each other was too familiar to be anything but family, pack.

“They thought I was running from them.” Zane murmured.

Derek snorted.

Scott saw the similarity then. The natural attitude of disdain that was all Hale, the dark hair that could have come from either Santiago or Derek, the tan skin, but Zane's eyes were Derek's; green and gray and blue and gold. The smirk was Derek too and Scott wondered if they had just cloned Derek and asked Santiago to carry the child. Scott wanted to see the kid glare, just for a reference.

Santiago dropped Scott and he turned to see Stiles fall from where he had pinned against the door and he coughed. Santiago turned from them and went to the desk. She had her back to them and she took in a deep breath.

“Derek?” Scott asked, and even to his own ears, he sounded strangled.. He caught sight of the ring on Derek's hand and his eyes went to the one on Santiago's hand and he thought of how Zane called Derek _Daddy_.

“Hey Scott.” Derek said casually, like Scott had just walked into a cafe where they were having lunch. Like they hadn't been searching for Derek for years. Scott backed up a step into Stiles.

Derek had a history with troubled women. _Mentally_ troubled women. Deceitful, lying, cheating, murdering, troubled women. It wasn't hard to put Santiago in that category.

He felt Stiles' hand curl into the back of his shirt when Derek pressed a kiss into Santiago's forehead. “Hey,” Derek whispered and there was a possessive hand on her back and he rubbed soothing circles. “You ok?”

“Of course.” She said and let out a shuddery breath. “You ought to teach your buddies here better than try to go after a cub before they end up in a dozen different graves.”

Zane was already correcting a word on the board, like nothing had just happened. Like his mom hadn't just threatened the lives of two people right in front of him.

“Good idea.” Derek said and pulled her hair out of its complicated bun and ran a hand through it. He still wasn't looking at Stiles or Scott. “You ready?”

“Yeah.” Santiago said and Derek touched Zane's shoulder. “You can finish tomorrow, buddy. Let's go get some lunch.”

“'Kay.” Zane said easily and capped his marker.

“You guys can follow us.” Derek said to Scott when he finally looked over his shoulder. “Red SUV, northeast corner.”

Scott and Stiles nodded stupidly.

They watched as Derek picked up Santiago's messenger bag and slung it over his shoulder and Zane grabbed his notebook from the desk he was sitting at.

“Come on.” Santiago said softly to the two of them. Her eyes were a little softer. “We don't have a lot of time.”

Scott and Stiles nodded stupidly and followed them out of the hall.

Scott couldn't help but notice how Zane fell between the two of them and he held each of their hands. Derek carried his notebook. Scott felt his heart squeeze when he saw how complete they were, the three of them, a small family and the contentment shone off of them like a spotlight.

When he risked a look at Stiles, he wished he hadn't. Stiles' eyes were blank and dark, darting everywhere but the three in front of them.

They didn't speak until they got into Lydia's Mustang she had loaned them four years ago.

“I didn't know.” Scott said quietly.

“I know you didn't.” Stiles said, equally as quiet.

Scott started the car and found the red SUV idling in the corner of the lot, ready to leave. He followed Derek through a maze of streets and ended up in front of a small adobe house, with a neat yard and a view of the mountains behind them. Derek waved them in and they got out of the Mustang and followed them in. When they walked in, Derek was already heading towards the back of the house, Santiago was nowhere in sight and Zane was pushing an extra chair in the room.

“Unknown life forms detected.” A calm voice said from above. “One alpha werewolf, one emissary.”

“Yep.” Zane said. “Got it in one, Friday.”

“Potential threat.” It said.

“Eh. I wouldn't go that far. Dad's home and you know that.” Zane replied and got another chair out of a different room.

“Do I exterminate?” The voice asked and several red dots appeared over Stiles and Scott's chest.

“Oh my god, you are banned from watching the BBC. And no. They are friends of Dad's, Friday. Scott McCall, alpha werewolf. Stiles Stilinski, emissary. Add them to your database.” Zane ordered. The dots disappeared and Zane waved them into the room where Derek had disappeared into. “Come on.”

“Are we going to be shot?” Stiles asked.

“Not by Friday.” Zane said. “I built her myself. Dad let me install her. When they have things to do that I can't attend, she protects me.”

Stiles and Scott followed Zane into the back which opened up into a large, airy kitchen. Derek was at the fridge and he put a bowl on the counter. Zane picked it up and put it on the table and went around Derek to get the plates.

Stiles found that he was sort of fascinated with Zane. The way he moved easily around Derek, like he knew exactly where Derek was and Derek knew exactly where his small body was at all times. The way they mirrored each other's gestures and when something wasn't where Zane thought it would be, the mini version of Derek's famous frown appeared on his face.

“Dad, you forgot to put the pie in the oven.” Zane said.

“Hm? No, the directions say it has to thaw. I need to take the lasagna out first anyway.” Derek said and looked at Stiles and Scott who were still standing there, staring at everything.

The house was warm and lived in. There were awards on the walls that bore Zane's name, _Zane Santiago-Hale,_ and pictures of him and variations of him with his parents or sometimes with both of them. All three of them were grinning like the world was theirs for the taking in all the pictures. Stiles' breath caught in his throat when he saw a picture of Derek looking exhausted and pale, but grinning as he held an infant that he had to assume was Zane.

“Oh my _god_ , so much better.” Santiago said as she came in, wearing ripped jeans, running shoes and a loose shirt with an owl on it. “I don't know how people wear that crap all the time.”

Her hair was loose around her shoulders and the contacts were gone but she wasn't wearing glasses either.

She came sniffing around the kitchen and Stiles began to feel more and more like an intruder in someone else's space. It was bizzare, seeing Derek with his wife and kid, doing something as mundane as chopping carrots and reminding Zane to wash his hands.

“Scott, Stiles, the bathroom is down the hall if you need it.” Santiago said.

“Yeah.” Stiles said and scrambled for the room, leaving Scott behind.

He missed the look that Santiago and Derek shared but Scott didn't.

“We can go.” Scott said. “We had other leads.”

“Don't be ridiculous.” Santiago said. “Derek always makes too much and Zane is dying to ask you questions about his daddy.”

Scott felt helpless. Now would be the time when he would let Stiles decide but he was pretty sure Stiles was hiding in the bathroom.

“Ok.” He finally said and made to go sit.

“Hands!” Zane said from the sink.

Scott joined him at the sink and washed his hands and finally sat. He was across from Santiago and Derek was cutting the lasagna into pieces and served a plate before passing it to Santiago. She set it down in front of Zane and Zane sighed.

“ _Dad_. I am a growing wolf.”

“Finish what's on your plate and you can have more.” Derek said, utterly unfazed by his son's tone. He handed the serving knife and spatula to Santiago and she served herself and then put some salad on Zane's plate. “ _Everything_ on your plate.” Derek added, raising his eyebrow at Zane.

Zane muttered something.

“I'm sorry, did you say something?” Derek asked, steepling his hands underneath his chin and looked at his son.

“No, sir.” Zane said.

Derek stared at him until Zane started to squirm.

“Ok, I'm sorry, I'll behave.” Zane said.

Stiles joined them once again. Scott turned to look at him, to try to reassure his best friend that yeah, this is really fucking weird, but it’s one meal and _would you please sit down so we can get this over with as soon as possible_?

Stiles seemed to understand and sat. He was so close to Scott though, that they kept bumping elbows as they served themselves. Scott shot him a look but Stiles did not move away.

“How have you guys been?” Derek asked and gestured to the two of them and the complete lack of personal space. “How long have you been dating?”

Scott felt himself go pale and Stiles went still.

“We aren't- we-” Scott started and looked at Zane to see if he was paying attention.

“It's ok.” Zane said encouragingly. “Wolves have a much more fluid definition of sexuality. Dad is bisexual and mom is like, mostly straight, unless Black Widow is on TV.”

Santiago, her mouth full, nodded.

Stiles choked.

“No- it's not. We aren't dating.” Scott said with a sigh.

“Oh.” Zane said with a shrug and returned to his lasagna.

“Ok.” Stiles set his fork down and put his head in his hands. “Can we just stop pretending this isn't weird for a second and like- Derek- man, what the fuck?”

Zane stood and left the table.

“You left and we didn't hear about you for years and you pop up in Arizona and you have a wife and kid?” Stiles continued. “What _happened_? Where were you?”

Zane returned, carrying a large jar, and it was labeled with neat handwriting-

_Swear jar:_

_Hell - .25_

_Damn - .25_

_Goddamn - .75_

_Shit - $1.00_

_Fuck - $5.00_

Stiles didn't even hesitate. He pulled out his wallet and stuffed a five in it.

“That's mostly mom's.” Zane whispered to Scott.

Scott smirked.

“A lot happened.” Derek said philosophically and chewed. “I got captured a couple of months after leaving Beacon Hills. Iman and her team.”

Scott looked to Santiago who was serving herself another piece of lasagna.

“They brought me in. It was-” Derek smirked at Santiago.

“A mess. A goddamn mess.” Santiago said. She dug into her pocket and pulled out a one and handed it over to Zane who gave her a quarter in return.

Scott and Stiles sat back and looked from one to the other.

“There is an organization. Shadowy, weird, pretty much everything you would expect from the government. They were the ones who captured me. Iman had been working with them for years at that point. Her and Laura were best friends in college and when my name popped up as a possible agent for them, they asked Iman to bring me in.” Derek said.

“So I did.” Iman said. “Good thing it was me, too. I'm pretty sure that Derek would have killed anyone else.”

“What the hell.” Scott breathed, looking at the three of them.

Zane pushed the jar at him. Scott handed a quarter over.

“When packs get out of control, we get sent in. When there isn't a pack to take care of kidnappings, killings, we get sent in.” Iman said. “One of our first cases, once Derek agreed to join and was all trained up, was to go after Kate Argent.”

Scott and Stiles went still. They never said it out loud, but they had always kept an eye out for her. Stiles had asked Scott once if he thought that she had finally gotten to Derek. Scott didn't have an answer.

“Mom killed her.” Zane said.

“Holy shit.” Stiles said. Derek tapped the jar. Stiles pulled out another dollar. “I hope this is for your college expenses, kid.” Stiles said.

“I've already got a bachelors.” Zane said.

“Oh my god.” Scott said and put his head on the table. He was getting an information overload. “I need a beer.”

“So then you two got married and have lived happily ever after and made, what I can only guess, is a genius?” Stiles said.

“They aren't married.” Zane said. “I was kind of a... in the moment decision.”

Stiles looked to Derek, aghast.

Derek shrugged. “He's a genius. We can't hide anything from him.”

“But, cause it's mom and dad,” Zane went on, clearly delighted to tell a favorite story, “They already had a history, knew they could work together, and decided that they would just raise me together. So dad got sent out on the next case where an alpha was causing trouble and took him down. Dad's the alpha now.”

Stiles snorted and clapped a hand over his mouth. “Sorry.” He said.

Derek rolled his eyes.

“How is this your life?” Scott asked Derek. Derek only raised his eyebrows at him. “But, why the rings? Why are you guys, like, cohabiting? The house? The shared vehicle?”

“Rings are the easiest. Show him, dad.” Zane said, bouncing in his seat. Derek took off his ring and handed it to Zane. Zane went around to Scott's side and showed him the inside of the band. “It's got a GPS locator. I've lost him too many times. And there is a small blade on the inside of it too, in case he needs to cut through ropes or something.” He went over and showed Stiles the same thing.

“That is really cool.” Stiles muttered as he examined the band. “And your mom's does the same thing?” He asked.

“Sort of. Except, mom gimme, thanks.” Zane cradled it in his hands. “It has the GPS but the diamond? Dad bought it and then I had grandma work on it before she died, mom's mom obviously, but-” Zane frowned, “Look, just hold it.” He placed it gently in Stiles' hand and the effect was immediate. Stiles felt like electricity was racing up his arm and there was the taste of maple syrup on his tongue.

“What is that?” Stiles asked.

“It focuses her power. This way, it's easier for her to do-” Zane shrugged, “Whatever she needs to do. And it makes her powerful.”

“Is that why she has the purple eyes?” Stiles asked, waving a hand at his face.

Scott looked to Derek who was watching the pair of them with a shake of his head and smirk on his mouth. They had both seen this before. When there was someone who could keep up with Stiles intellectually, they lost them both, sometimes for hours on end.

“No, but that's pretty cool, right?” Zane said.

“If by cool you mean terrifying, than yes.” Stiles said.

“Zane, babe, eat.” Iman said and pushed his plate over and Stiles pushed Scott out of his seat so that Zane could sit.

“Dude.” Scott said, a little offended.

“Go sit with Iman. We have things to talk about.” Stiles said, dismissively.

“Rude.” Scott muttered and went and sat down between Derek and Iman.

“No, the eyes? See, I couldn't figure it out for _ages_. And it doesn't happen all the time, see?” Zane was clearly getting excited. Derek tapped his plate. Zane took a bite of his food.

“So you thought there was some kind of other element to the change? That made her eyes purple?” Stiles nodded. “Makes sense. When you guys do the eye thing, there is some push for it. A threat to the pack, so on.”

“Right!” Zane said. “But mom gets even weirder.”

“Sitting literally right here.” Iman said.

Zane ignored her. “Ok, so get this.” He had Stiles undivided attention. “Mom's eyes were never gold.”

Stiles looked unsure and glanced to Derek. “Never were.” He confirmed.

“Never gold, but they were silver.” Zane said. “And the thing is, there is almost no correlation between the purple and silver.”

“It's gotta be genetic.” Stiles said.

“Exactly what I thought!” Zane crowed. “But I couldn't know until my first shift.”

“You're killing me.” Stiles said.

“Look.” Zane murmured and flashed his eyes at Stiles.

_Green._

“Holy shit, do that again.” Stiles said and grasped Zane's face in his hands and squished his cheeks together so that he could see Zane's eyes. Derek pushed the swear jar at him.

Zane did it again. “Also,” Zane's voice came out a little odd sounding between his squished cheeks, “Never gold.”

“Are you still a beta?” Stiles asked.

“No idea. We can't categorize mom either.” Zane said and Stiles finally let go of his cheeks.

“That's so cool.” Stiles muttered. “I wonder if Lydia knows something.” He said and pulled out his phone. “It could be an evolution. Is there anything your mom can do that you dad can't?”

“He's so much cooler than you let on, dad.” Zane said and that made Stiles pause in his text to Lydia. Derek had spoken of him?

 _Fondly_?

“Well, here's where it gets tricky,” Zane said going on, “There is a lot my mom can do that my dad can't. Like, dad is a bad ass but mom? Oh my god. Mom's ancestors come from South America, Dad's from England. Mom has more magic in her roots than wolf. She is a genius, just like me. So it could be a marker for something like that. Or our kind could be evolving. Mom's a better shot than dad. Also, she borders on telepathic. She's faster and a better fighter.”

“I'm pretty sure I'm offended.” Derek said.

“So weird.” Stiles said and set his phone down. “What about you?”

Zane paused for the first time and looked to his dad. Derek looked to Iman and she shrugged. “If you think they can be trusted, Der.”

“Go ahead.” Derek said.

Zane looked at Stiles. “Don't freak out, ok?”

“Well that's kind of a guarantee that I will.” Stiles replied.

Zane sighed and snapped his fingers.

Scott stood and took a step back from the table. Stiles, admirably, did not move. His eyes widened but he did not freak out or even say much of anything at all. There was a slight uptick in his heartbeat, but other than that, there was not much to give away.

Iman and Derek continued eating.

“Is that real?” He finally asked, clearing his throat.

There was a small flame in the middle of Zane's palm.

“Yeah.” Zane said. “You can feel the heat.”

Stiles reached out and passed the tips of his fingers through the flame.

It was real alright.

“Unless you can all of a sudden do this,” Stiles said to Derek, his eyes glued on Zane's small hand, “I think we can definitely call this an evolution.”

“I can't do that.” Derek confirmed. “Put it away and eat, Zane.”

Zane closed his hand and the flame went out and he picked up his fork.

Scott sat down slowly.

Stiles' phone rang. He silenced it and continued to eat.

“This is really good, Derek.” Iman finally said. Stiles blinked at her and had to remind himself that not everyone's world had changed.

Derek smiled at her. “Do you have a lot of papers tonight?” He asked.

“Nothing that can't wait till the weekend.” She said and sighed.

“How long have you guys been here?” Scott asked.

Iman hummed and tilted her head to the side. “About three, no four. Four years.” She looked at Stiles but he was clearly deep in thought.

“Where are you guys staying?” Iman asked, turning to face Scott.

“The Step Back Inn off of Central.” Scott said.

Derek snorted and shook his head. “No, you aren't.”

Scott looked at Derek and frowned. “Yeah we are.”

“No, really. You will probably be killed.” Iman said. “You probably really, really shouldn't stay there.”

“Why?” Scott asked.

Stiles had pulled a paper out of his pocket and he was scribbling on it, and Zane was watching over his shoulder.

“Mom and Dad had to go down there once and clear out a nest of basilisks, vamps, and ghouls.” Zane said and then pointed at something on the paper. “It's recessive. Grandma didn't have it and neither did any of her relatives.”

“Yeah, but the polygenic aspect _alone-”_ Stiles muttered.

“We need more paper.” Zane said and left the room only to return a moment later. He shoveled another bite in his mouth when Derek caught his eye. Stiles did the same thing when Derek looked at him. “Ok, but this is near impossible-”

“But near is not completely.” Stiles said and began drawing a table on the larger paper that Zane brought him.

“Boys.” Iman said and snatched the pencils from their hands and took the paper out from under them. Stiles and Zane looked up at her and she was staring at both of them, the mom voice clear, “ _Eat_.”

Scott had never seen Stiles look so offended but he began to eat anyway.

“Can I have some more?” Zane asked a moment later.

Derek doled out some more lasagna.

“We've been here in the last four years, why haven't we seen you?” Scott asked.

“We weren't always so visible.” Derek said. “But Iman got bored and decided to teach. I'm a stay at home dad when Zane isn't at the college too.”

“Dad's kind of a bad ass.” Zane murmured to Stiles. “Don't let the stay at home thing fool you.”

“Not for a minute.” Stiles murmured back. He had to wonder how he had found a new little friend so easily. Usually the kids liked Scott better.

“Where do you suggest we stay?” Scott asked.

“You can stay here.” Zane said easily.

Iman stood. “Pie?”

“I got it.” Derek said and waved her back.

Scott looked to Stiles. Scott shrugged. Stiles raised his eyebrows and tilted his head to the kitchen. Scott frowned at him and shook his head. Stiles tried to look even more urgent but ended up looking constipated and Scott snorted.

“I'll get the ice cream.” Iman said.

They came back and Scott and Stiles were still trying to have a silent conversation with their eyes.

“You guys can have Zane's room.” Iman said. She frowned. “I wish I had known you were coming, so I could have washed the sheets.”

“They can't stay in Zane's room. That's a twin bed.” Derek said. “They can have my room and I'll take Zane's room.”

“Are there clean sheets for your room?” Iman asked.

“Who do you think I am?” Derek asked. They were standing on opposite sides of the table, Iman behind Scott with a tub of ice cream, Derek behind Stiles and Zane, three plates of pie in his hand.

“We can't impose on you guys like this.” Scott said, reading the panic on Stiles' face clearly.

“I think that you are the guy who lived in an abandoned train station for months on end when you could have afforded several perfectly good houses.” Iman said, raising one eyebrow and offering a challenge and some banter, all at once.

“Can I have my pie?” Zane asked, reaching for Derek's hand. Derek pulled it out of his grasp.

“Does this place _look_ like an abandoned train station?” Derek asked, gesturing widely with his hand that held the pie.

“Dad.” Zane said patiently, standing on his chair and reaching for the pie. He seemed completely at ease with his parents and how they were bantering back and forth.

“It does not, but I think we know whose influence we can thank for that.” Iman said.

“Really, we can just find another place to stay.” Scott insisted.

Iman put a hand on his shoulder and Scott fell silent.

“Yeah. Zane's influence.” Derek said loftily.

“I suppose that's true.” Iman said and she rolled her eyes. “Figures that it took a child for you to grow up.”

Zane began to crawl up Derek's body as he said, “Iman, I'm hurt.” Derek said, his eyes wide and mocking. He shifted the pie away from Zane and said, “This, coming from the woman who once lived for six months in an abandoned gym and used molding mats as a bed.”

“ _Pie_.” Zane whispered.

“Alright pretty boy. That's a good point, but I wasn't able to afford a motel, let alone a house at that point.” Iman reminded him.

“Hey, you had every opportunity to say something back in California when you were watching us.” Derek reminded her.

“Sure. Because between your psychotic girlfriends and all the other madness over there, that would have been an _excellent_ time.” Iman said and rolled her eyes. Scott held a hand up behind him and they high fived.

“Did you really date psychotic women, dad?” Zane asked, the pie within his reach. Derek passed it off to Scott.

“Yes.” Derek said and handed the other piece off to Stiles. Zane whined and Derek handed the last piece to Iman and Derek caught Zane in his arms and kissed his cheeks soundly. “But I found your mom and we got you and the rest is history.”

“We don't get pie?” Zane asked, his eyes wide.

“Ours is on the counter.” Derek said with a grin.

Stiles wasn't sure what his chest and heart were doing, watching Derek flip Zane around in his arms and rain kisses on him as he carried Zane into the kitchen. It reminded him of his own father and made Stiles wonder if this was how Derek's own father was with him. It made Stiles wonder if this was how Derek would have been if Laura had had children and Derek was their favorite uncle.

It made Stiles wonder about a lot of things.

“I'm sorry.” Stiles said suddenly, to Iman. She was sitting with one leg curled under her, clearly thinking about something else, instead of witnessing the small miracle that was Derek Hale happy.

“For what?” She asked, blinking and realizing that Stiles was talking to her.

“For threatening him. For implying that he is what's killing the students.” Stiles said.

Derek and Zane were in the kitchen now and Derek was trying to lick the ice cream off of Zane's nose that he had put there. Zane was shrieking and pushing Derek away.

“You were never really a threat.” She said gently.

“When you said that you once saw a mother tear apart two alphas for coming after her child-” Scott began.

“I didn't see it.” She said, “I misspoke.”

“That was you, wasn't it?” Stiles said.

She nodded, “They took Derek. They knew there was something different about me and Zane. So, it was them or Zane.” She shrugged. “It wasn't really a choice.”

Iman's eyes drifted to Derek and Zane in the kitchen. She smiled at them even though Zane was now wielding the water from the sink to splash Derek.

“Derek had a better childhood than me. I'm glad it's him.” She told them. When she reached for her water, Stiles saw a round burn on her arm that looked like a cigarette had been put out on her skin. She caught him staring but didn't pull her arm back or try to cover it up and instead only shrugged, “Derek grew up in a much better family than mine. At least he had that much.” She smiled at Stiles, “At least one of us knows what to do.” Iman took a drink from her glass and set it down, “So, I do have a question for you.” She said and her long fingers held the glass lightly.

“What's that?” Stiles asked and waited for questions about possession, about kanimas, nogitsunes, about Jennifer, Kate, all of that.

“Is your dad really as awesome as Derek says or is that just a bunch of crap?” Iman asked instead. “Because he makes him sound like a goddamn saint.”

“Jar!” Zeke yelled.

Stiles was thrown for a loop and then gave Iman a lopsided smile. “Better.” He said. “He's still back in Beacon Hills but sometimes he can get info for us that we can't.”

“I wish I could meet him.” She said. She put her fork down. “The way Derek talks about him-”

“Who?” Derek said, coming back into the kitchen, shirt sticking to him and Zane looking like a drowned puppy with his hair sticking up everywhere.

“The Sheriff.” Iman said. Derek put Zane down and he went around the table and curled up on Iman's lap even though he was three quarters her size. She shifted him around to a more comfortable position.

“How is he?” Derek said and sat down next to Stiles.

“Good. He's much better now that Scott and I convinced him to carry mountain ash and wolfsbane bullets.” Stiles said and nodded.

“He's supposed to come see the Grand Canyon next week. Him and mom.” Scott said.

“What?” Stiles said.

Scott shrugged. “They wanted to surprise you for your birthday.”

Stiles glared at Scott.

Zane had quieted down considerably and when Stiles looked over at him, he was laying on his mom's shoulder, his face buried in her thick hair that he had arranged as a pillow. She was stroking his hair off his forehead and Stiles could see his eyelids drooping.

“Tuesdays and Thursdays are his hard days.” Derek explained. “He has to be in lab at seven and then has classes all day until about five.”

“Geez.” Scott said. “Stiles was supposed to be an adult and his schedule was never that hard.”

“We tried to get him to spread it out a little bit, but-” Iman shrugged and gestured to Zane. “He's like Derek too much sometimes.”

When Stiles looked to Derek, he didn't look anything but proud.

“You want me to take him?” Derek asked.

“Why so you can stick me with dishes on your night? Again?” Iman asked. “I'm on to your little game, Hale.” She stood up and carried Zane out of the room.

“Damn.” Derek said and began to clear the table.

Scott and Stiles stood and helped.

Between the three of them, they had the kitchen cleaned in under ten minutes. When they were done, Derek grabbed some beers from the fridge and gestured to the backdoor.

Outside was a pergola and chairs arranged around a firepit. The sun had disappeared behind the mountains but it was too bright from the city lights to really see any stars yet.

“So.” Scott said.

Derek turned to him.

“Do you have any clues as to what's taking all the co-eds?” He asked, sticking to a safe subject.

“No. Last week was the biggest kidnapping we've seen. Administration sent us all the information that they going back to the 1800s, and it seems like this sort of thing happens once every fifty years.” Derek said.

“So not a were.” Scott said.

Derek sighed. “It's hard to say. It could still be. It could be any number of things. Iman and Zane are working on a model that could pin it down but they need help with the math.”

“Is that smart?” Scott asked and leaned forward so that his forearms were resting on his knees. “To bring Zane into this?”

“We know he's a genius and he's got you two, and that fire thing, but Derek-” Stiles added.

“And believe us, we would never try to tell you how to raise your kid-” Scott threw in.

“But he's so _young_.” Stiles finished.

The door opened behind them and Iman came out, a glass of wine in her hand. She sat down next to Stiles and propped her feet up on the firepit.

Derek was nodding when Stiles turned back to him. “Valid concerns.”

“Important, even.” Iman said.

“But,” Derek sighed and looked to Iman.

She shook her head. “Don't look at me, pretty boy. They are your friends so you get to do this one.”

“The thing that you have to understand about Zane, and about born wolves in general, is that we were raised with the full knowledge that the world at large would probably come after us with pitchforks and torches.” Derek started slowly. “Hunters are oftentimes the least of our concerns. Add to that the fact that Zane is incredibly intelligent and you get a wolf that could probably conquer the world if he ever got bored. He knows. We don't hide things from him.”

“Anything.” Iman added and then she smiled, “He's intelligent, a were, and good-looking. You don't think that we wouldn't make him aware of the world around him the minute we knew he could process it?”

“And he was raised in the Administration.” Derek said and it was just then that Stiles realized that the word was capitalized.

“The secret shadowy government agency you work for?” Stiles asked.

Derek nodded. “He was-” He sighed. “It sounds so much worse than it was, really.”

“Get the idea that Administration is a cinderblock building in the middle of nowhere with blank walls and tile floors and doctors and scientists running around. That's not what it is.” Iman said softly.

“Administration has several different places, really, in all different kinds of places. But because they house weres, vampires, ghouls, ghosts, just about every monster you were lied to about, they have to have room to move. The places are sometimes in the desert, but then they are in the mountains, in the forest, on islands, in cities, all kinds of places like that.” Derek said. “When Iman was pregnant, she was treated like a queen, with literally the best in the world attending her. Doctors, chefs, nurses, all of it. We demanded that if they wanted us to stay working for them, then they had to give us what we needed.”

Iman sighed. “Those were the days.”

Derek rolled his eyes. “And when Zane was born, he had round the clock care. He had his own damn night nurse so that we could sleep through the night and be with him during the day. They brought college professors in for him when he began to show intelligence like his mom.”

“Quit it.” Iman growled and she flashed her purple eyes at him.

Derek returned the look with a flash of red. “It's true.”

Iman growled.

Derek smirked.

“Did we miss something?” Scott whispered.

“Yes.” Stiles whispered back.

“Derek likes to pin the whole intelligence thing on me because I can do things like- I don't know. Read books really fast and remember everything.” Iman said. “I _hate_ it when he tries to put it all on me when he is just as smart as Zane and I.”

Stiles smiled at Iman. “I like you.”

She smiled back at him.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Derek huffed as though Iman and Stiles getting along was offensive, “Zane went through training like mine but on a child's level. Then he got better. And then he got _way_ better.”

“You see a child and yeah, that's what he is.” Iman said. “But that's not all he is.”

“He's deadly.” Derek muttered. “If you two had tried to take him, he could have held you both back until we got to him.”

“You can't know that.” Scott said, looking from Derek to Iman.

“We can and we do. We have the tapes to prove it.” Derek said. He looked a little bitter. “It's not what we would have chosen for him.”

“If we had a choice, we would have him in a normal fifth grade class, doing whatever the fuck they do in there.” Iman said and without anyone saying anything, she pulled a five out and slapped it on the edge of the firepit. “But we didn't have a choice when it came to Zane and his abilities. We had to work with what we had and if we didn't give him the means to protect himself and the people around him when he could, than what does that make us?”

“Negligent, bordering on abusive.” Derek said. “And our child wasn't going to be as ill prepared as we were when we got thrown into the world. Not if we could help it.”

Stiles scrubbed his face.

Scott looked sad.

“Don't think of it like that.” Derek said, reading their faces. “We go to great lengths to make sure that he isn't missing anything from a shifter's childhood.”

“Vacations, carnivals, friends in the neighborhood, a balanced diet-” Iman waved her hand, “All that jazz.”

“But he's a ten year old _spy_.” Scott sputtered.

“And a damn good one.” Iman said.

“Has he ever-” Stiles started and then stopped.

“Killed anyone?” Derek asked.

“Yes.” Iman said.

Scott looked a little pale.

“We had this case.” Derek said and shook his head. He drank his beer and glanced at Iman.

“There was a hunter that was buying and selling were children.” Iman said. Her eyes were distant. “Zane was seven at the time but there was no one else who could take it. Administration gave us a choice and Zane insisted he could handle it.” She paused and took a large drink of her wine. “We tried to talk him out of it. Hell, the Director herself tried to talk him out of it. But he's got this mindset where, if he can help, he _has_ to. It becomes an obsession.”

“I have no idea what that's like.” Scott said flatly and looked at Stiles.

“And he became obsessed.” Iman said. “He knew the ring leader inside and out within a day. It was probably the most terrifying moment of my entire life, watching him climb into this unmarked car and be driven away.”

“If it had been anyone but Argent, I don't think I could have let him go.” Derek added.

“Chris?” Scott asked.

Derek nodded. “He helps out sometimes but he's mostly retired.”

“Son of a bitch.” Stiles said and shook his head.

“That's a dollar.” Iman said.

“This kid is going to bleed me dry.” Stiles said and pulled out his wallet.

“What happened?” Scott asked.

“He got in. Chris pretended like he was selling him, got the million and a half promised to him, and he was taken to this-” Iman made a face, “Warehouse. It was changed up so that there were dozens upon dozens of cells where people could walk through and pick out what child they wanted.”

“You've seen our son.” Derek said. “He's too good-looking for his own good and we knew that he didn't have a lot of time.”

“What we didn't expect was that the ringleader would take a _personal_ interest in him.” Iman said. “He wasn't even put in a cell. They paraded him in front of the guy and the leader himself took Zane to a secondary location.”

“His control of fire wasn't as developed as it was now and things got out of control, fairly quickly.” Derek said. “By the time we got there, half the guy's house was on fire and he had a letter opener in his eyeball.”

“Jesus.” Scott said.

Stiles sat back and thought about what they talked about. He drifted along in the conversation, while Scott updated Derek on everyone back at home or in Chicago.

He hadn't realized he was falling asleep until he felt a hand on his arm. He blinked and found Iman looking down at him. “Come on.” She said and nodded to the door. Stiles nodded and said goodnight to Derek and Scott and followed Iman into the house.

She stopped at Derek's room. “He has his own bathroom in there and I made sure you guys have towels and everything. There's extra blankets in the closet.”

Stiles peered in to see the large room, done in dark wood and shades of gray.

“Where are you going to sleep?” Stiles asked. “We can't kick you guys out of your room.”

Iman patted his shoulder. “Derek and I aren't-” She shook her head and made a face. “Derek and I are more like you and Scott. He's the father of my child and I love him so much, second only to Zane, but believe me, the one night we had that resulted in Zane was all that ever was.” She nodded to a room down the hall. “That's my room.”

Stiles nodded. He looked into the room across the hall, clearly Zane's, with its smaller bed and light blue walls and computer tucked into the corner. Iman headed down the hall to where she gestured to. “Oh, and Derek has this special soap that he uses, I don't know, he's kind of prissy about it?”

“Don't use it?” Stiles guessed.

“Are you kidding me? Use it _all_. He gets all huffy about it and I pretty much live to mock him.” Iman said and grinned.

Stiles laughed.

The soap smelled expensive and Stiles used a lot of it.

***

When Stiles woke up the next morning, Scott was a warm pressing weight on his back. They had to let go of the weirdness that came with Scott's unintentional cuddling a long time ago or their friendship would be ruined.

And to be quite honest, sometimes it was nice to be cuddled.

Stiles had it down to a fine art, getting out from underneath him without waking him up. He pulled some loose knit pants on and opened the door just wide enough to get through it and then slipped out and turned around.

When he turned around, his heart leapt in his chest, he squeezed his eyes shut, and forced himself to take a deep breath.

Derek was sprawled out on Zane's bed, wearing basketball shorts and nothing else. If that had been it, that would have been enough, but Zane was tucked against his chest, one small hand holding Derek's larger palm close. It was clear that Zane loved his father to the ends of the earth, which Stiles totally understood, but it was also clear that Zane idolized his father and wanted to be just like him, down to the loose shorts he wore that matched Derek's.

Stiles wasn't sure how long he stood there, staring, until he looked up at Derek's face and realized he was watching Stiles. He gave Stiles a small smile and in a move too complicated for Stiles to really understand, he sat up, swung Zeke around, placed him in the warm spot that Derek left behind and covered him with a blanket that had been kicked to the ground.

Zeke never woke up, only mumbled something about buttons before Derek could shut the door behind them.

“Coffee.” Derek said and headed to the kitchen.

Stiles stared at the tattoo on his back, struck that some things did remain the same.

Derek was pouring coffee by the time Stiles remembered to stumble after him and there was a large note left on the fridge, informing everyone that Iman had gone to do office hours and that she would be back after one. She asked for enchiladas for dinner and reminded Derek that they had company that night.

Derek handed Stiles a large mug with creamer and sugar and sat at the table, propping his feet up on a chair opposite of him. His hair was askew, his eyes were a little sleep muddled, and his face was soft. Time had done nothing to diminish his body, Stiles noted.

“You got tattoos.” Derek said when Stiles sat down.

“Yeah and Iman ran through them like a hot knife through butter. I need an upgrade.” Stiles said.

“Not necessarily. Iman has experience almost no one else does. She can do things that left Deaton speechless.” Derek said.

“She's just met the whole crowd, hasn't she?” Stiles said and tried not to sound bitter. He failed, horribly.

Derek looked at him and there was an honesty and openness that Stiles didn't want to ruin. “She's met a few from Beacon Hills, yeah.”

Stiles took a drink and looked out the backdoor.

“You can ask me, Stiles. It's ok.” Derek said.

“Why didn't you try to come back? Send us a message or something. Scott and I thought Kate had finally gotten you.”

Derek frowned and looked at his coffee. “I didn't think about that. I'm sorry.” He fiddled with his coffee and Stiles waited. He was good at that now. “I heard that you and Scott were doing a Sam and Dean-”

“Oh my god, not you too.” Stiles said.

Derek smiled. “I just thought that you needed your own time and your own life. I didn't want you to have more than you can handle. And I had all that I could handle. Zane likes to make it sound easy, the way Iman and I figured out how to raise him and be a pack, but it took _years_. We both almost drove each other crazy. There were fights and crying and we had to be pulled apart from each other more than once. But Chris pointed out that we were just fighting because we loved Zane more than either one of us thought we could ever love anyone and it was scary. We were fighting because we were scared. We thought that the other one was going to take him away. So we made a deal. It was the three of us. We would make our own pack and we would always have each other. Then it was work, or Zane, or moving, or figuring out a new way to live in a new town-” Derek shook his head. “Life happened Stiles. As far as excuses go, it's not much of one, but it's all I have.”

“I understand.” Stiles said.

Derek gave him another smile and it felt like he was being offered something precious.

“Fatherhood suits you.” Stiles said. “You seem to have taken to it like a duck to water.”

“I never thought I would have it. So-” Derek shrugged. “I try to do him proud. Him and my parents and your dad, even.”

“ _My_ dad?” Stiles asked.

“After everything, he was there for me too. And I saw how you two were with each other. I just want something like that for me and Zane.” Derek said quietly.

“I think you are getting it right.” Stiles said. “Although, thank god, Zane seems less inclined to my smart ass ways.”

“Thank god.” Derek said and laughed. He opened his mouth to say something else but was interrupted by a knock at the door. He looked at Stiles.

“Are you expecting anyone?” Stiles asked him.

Derek shook his head. “Friday?”

“Unknown, boss. Redhead female, five foot, three inches. Brunette female, five foot, eight inches.” The voice replied. “Dropped off by a towncar. Instructions?”

“Nothing.” Derek said and he relaxed. “Lydia Martin and Malia Tate. Add them to the database.”

“Yes, boss.”

Derek stood and went to the door and opened it.

Lydia and Malia stood there and looked at Derek, open mouthed and silent.

“Hi.” Derek finally said.

Lydia launched herself at Derek first with a scream and then Malia joined her, throwing the small pile of bodies to the ground. Derek knocked over a small table and landed with a grunt and Stiles was being pushed back by a small body and a threatening growl.

Lydia and Malia went still and they looked up from where they were both pinning Derek to the ground to Zane who was breathing hard, claws out, and eyes flashing.

“Daddy?” He said.

“Oh my god.” Lydia said and Stiles was startled when she saw her eyes welling up with tears. Malia put a hand to her mouth.

“It's ok, son.” Derek said. “Friends from Beacon Hills.”

“Oh.” Zane said and Stiles watched as he drew everything back in, his claws disappeared and his fangs retracted. Then he waved a small hand, “Hi.” He said.

Malia stood and helped Lydia to her feet. They looked to Derek who was now just laying on the ground, hands folded across his chest. He nodded and they stepped over him.

Zane held his hand out to Malia first. “I'm Zane Santiago-Hale.” He said.

Malia shook his hand. “Malia Tate.”

Zane's smile was blinding. “You're my cousin.”

Malia nodded.

“And a werecoyote.” Zane added.

Malia nodded again.

Lydia gently nudged Malia out of the way and Zane took her hand.

“Lydia Martin.” She said.

Zane's eyes widened and he looked to Derek who was still watching from the floor. “Dad?”

“That's her, son.” Derek said. He stood up and shut the door and righted the table. Lydia looked from Derek back to Zane who was still holding onto her hand.

“I wrote a thesis on how banshees could, theoretically because _humans_ , exist and how they use supersonic, hypersonic and even subsonic sound waves as a weapon and thus became sort of the legend and myth that we know today and it's just _very exciting to meet an actual banshee_.” Zane finished breathlessly.

“Theoretically correct,” Lydia said with a smirk. “But I have yet to hit hypersonic.”

“But supersonic-” Zane started, practically trembling with excitement.

“Son, it's very early for science. And I haven't seen these two in years. Go jump in the shower and then maybe Lydia and you can have your own science experiment if she wants.” Derek said.

“Right. Yeah, ok.” Zane said and hugged Stiles suddenly. “Morning!” He shouted and left. There was a yelp when he took a corner too fast and he stumbled into a wall and there was a crash.

There was silence.

“Dad?” Zane called slowly.

“What did you break?” Derek asked with a sigh.

“The wall.” Zane replied.

Derek dropped his head and sighed.

Malia and Stiles looked at each other and had to suppress the laughter that was on the verge of spilling from their mouths.

“Where?” Derek asked.

There was a long pause before: “In mom's room.”

Derek winced. “I'll fix it later.”

They heard a door shut and then Malia and Lydia turned to Derek.

“He's adorable.” Malia said.

“And clearly the smartest person in this house.” Lydia said and turned to the kitchen.

“You haven't met his mom.” Stiles said and trailed after her to protect his coffee.

“Is she pretty?” Malia asked, walking in after Stiles.

“Uh, she's kind of beautiful. If you like the whole flawless, smart, terrifying woman sort of thing.” Stiles said.

“Isn't that literally your taste in women?” Lydia asked and winked.

“Please, everyone, come in.” Derek said but he didn't sound put out. More like amused.

“Why are you guys here?” Stiles asked when he sat down again. Derek reached over the table and grabbed his own coffee and sat down next to Stiles.

Lydia sat across from them, coffee in hand. “You can't just text me, _Hey, talking with Derek's kid. Wondering if you have a computer model for calculating wolf genes? He's got questions._ And ignore my calls, turn off your phone, and expect me not to do something drastic.”

“That's fair.” Stiles said and took a drink of his coffee.

“So, Derek,” Malia said when she joined them, “You've been up to some things.”

Derek looked to Stiles who only shrugged. “I got the Readers Digest version.” He said.

Derek opened his mouth and began to explain.

They were still there at three thirty, having eaten both breakfast and lunch, Lydia and Zane working on something that Stiles was pretty sure no one else could understand, Scott glancing through profiles they had on the students that had been taken and Malia, Stiles, and Derek chatting about Beacon Hills gossip. The front door opened and Iman came through the hall, an unreadable look on her face.

Malia and Lydia looked from Iman to Derek and back to Iman before standing up.

“Hey.” Derek said easily. “Iman, this is Lydia Martin and Malia Tate. Guys, this is Iman Santiago.” He gestured between the three women, introducing them all.

Much to Stiles' surprise, Iman blushed. “Hi.” She said and raised a hand at Lydia and Malia. Stiles suddenly saw the similarity between her and Zane.

“Hi.” Malia said.

“We're so sorry to barge in on you like this.” Lydia said in a rush. “It's just that Stiles is a moron and we thought that there might be an emergency, so we rushed down from Chicago-”

“No, no.” Iman said, holding her hands out. “It's ok. Really. Just- ugh. Let me go change really quick.”

She left the room quickly and Derek leaned over to Stiles. “I've talked about you guys _a lot_ over the years and she wants to make a good impression.”

“I don't imagine that she's had a lot of friends over the years, either.” Lydia said and Zane frowned at her and opened his mouth. “I mean, other than you and your daddy.” Lydia said. “Like, friends her own age that were also women.”

Zane's brow furrowed as the thought.

“How could you have possibly have known that?” Derek asked.

“Look at how she presents herself. For one, she's beautiful. I mean, your kid struck the genetic lottery.” Lydia said. “For another, she's obviously a certified genius if she is teaching at her age at a university. On top of people assuming that you two are married, because you aren't terrible to look at Derek,” Zane giggled and Lydia smiled at him, “And then throw in the genius kid? How could you _not_ be jealous?”

“ _I'm_ a little jealous.” Scott admitted from the ground where he was sprawled out, reading a book he had taken on Zane's recommendation. “Derek's a hottie.” He added absently.

“Please, take him.” Iman said when she came back in the room. Gone were the sensible and slightly gross shoes; along with the ill-fitting sweater, slacks, and awful costume jewelry. Now she was in her trademark ripped jeans, bare feet, and tank top. There was the beginning of a tattoo peeking out from under the right shoulder of her shirt. Her hair was loose and in waves around her shoulders and Stiles wanted to sigh at the easy beauty of her.

Derek gave her a benign smile. “Then who would cook for you? Do the wash? Make sure your kid is fed and wearing matching clothes?” Derek shot a look at Zane where he was wearing red shorts and a neon green shirt, “Sort of.” He added.

Iman fell into a chair beside Stiles. “I guess we'll keep you.” She said and her tone was flat.

Stiles looked to Scott who was getting up now. They raised their eyebrows at each other.

“You forgot to carry your one.” Zane said to Lydia.

Stiles looked over to them and then to Malia.

“Lydia _never_ forgets to-” Malia said.

“Oh my god.” Lydia said and suddenly she was erasing something on the paper.

Even Scott sat up to look concerned.

“Wow.” Derek muttered and rubbed the back of his neck. “I never thought I would see the day.”

“This is all your fault, Hale.” Lydia hissed.

“What?” Derek said and looked around. “How?”

“You made him.” Lydia said and jabbed a pencil in Zane's direction.

“Yeah...” Derek said. He didn't seem to have much of a defense against that.

“Are you feeding us, or do we have to starve?” Iman asked Derek, irritation clear in her voice now.

Derek raised an eyebrow.

“I could cook.” Iman huffed, her tone no less gentle, as she went to stand. For some reason, she seemed on edge, like there was something that was bothering her.

“I think we would all prefer to starve.” Derek said.

Zane nodded from where he was watching Lydia calculate once more.

“So you're cooking. Excellent.” Iman said and leaned back. “Friday?” She called out.

“Yes, ma'am?” The soothing voice said.

“Any news?”

“There was a kidnapping but no reported murders.” Friday replied.

Derek paused as he was getting up from his spot at the table. “What?”

“There was a kidnapping but no reported murders.” Friday repeated.

Iman drummed her fingers against the table and her gaze was distant as she looked out the window. Derek sat back down slowly. “You knew about this?” He asked her.

Iman nodded.

“Were you going to, I don't know, tell me?” Derek asked, his tone even.

Iman looked at him. “Yes.” She said, her tone matching his.

“Was there a specific time and date for this information, or was it just going to be when you got around to it?” Derek asked.

“I had a pretty specific time and date until I heard all the strange people in our house, no offense, and then I saw the hole in my wall and for some reason, the washer was overflowing and spilled into the hallway or did you just not... I don't know, notice?” She said.

“Those really can't be compared to a kidnapping.” Derek said.

“No, you're right.” She said nodding. “But I was just pointing out that every other time that this has happened, _you_ have come to _me_ with the information, without me being dragged down to the precinct.” Iman had a barely leashed anger in her.

“You were _arrested_?” Derek said. “Why didn't you call me?”

“I wasn't arrested, otherwise I wouldn't be here. They just questioned me. For two hours. And I didn't call you because I didn't need you, something that I thought I could reassure you of when I figured you would notice that I was two hours late when there is a kidnapper and/or murderer on the loose.”

Zane's eyes were bouncing between his parents and no one so much as breathed too loudly.

“Why didn't you just leave?” Derek asked. “If you weren't arrested.”

“Because I don't need anymore suspicion on my head when the last three people who went missing were in one of my seminars.” Iman snapped.

“We knew that already.” Derek said.

“Yeah, I _know_ that we knew that already.” Iman said. “Now the police know, the DA, and the mayor and the president of the university know too. So-” She stood and her chair tipped over but Malia caught it. “I'm going to go for a run.” She said with some finality. She left the room and made for the hallway and turned the corner before anyone but Derek could move.

Derek went after her.

For some reason, that made Stiles' chest feel tight.

Zane frowned at the hallway and put his pencil down. He left Lydia's side and Stiles was about to call him back when he made for the kitchen instead and sent Stiles a look that asked for help.

Stiles followed him.

“I want macaroni and cheese.” Zane said softly.

They could hear voices in the backroom.

Zane pulled out a small box from the pantry and shuffled through it. “Dad remembered how Grandma Talia made it and wrote it down.” He explained and pulled an index card out and handed it to Stiles. When Stiles turned back around, Scott had his head in the fridge.

“Derek pulled out some steaks this morning- Ah!” Scott said and pulled them out.

“I'll start the grill.” Malia said.

“I can run to the store. Wine, anyone?” Lydia said.

“Please.” Stiles said.

They all went in their own directions with minimal talk and Zane jumped up on the counter next to where Stiles was measuring out the four different kinds of cheeses.

“They have times when they just...” Zane sighed and looked down the hall. “They can't stand to look at each other.”

Stiles arched an eyebrow.

“And it's because of me.” Zane said softly.

Stiles put the cheese down and rubbed his hands on his jeans.

“Ok, big guy,” Stiles winced when he used Derek's nickname but went on anyway, “We are going to get one thing straight. Your parents, their fights, their arguments, their- _deal_ , is all them. All of it, ok? Not a single part of this is your fault. I _know_ your dad. He can- he doesn't respond or deal with emotion in the best of ways. And it sounds like your mom had just one of the worst days ever. They have to talk these things out. Maybe they might yell at each other. But it’s your dad's job to take care of his pack and it's your mom's job to understand that things happen.”

Zane was nodding but his head was bowed.

“Hey.” Stiles said and nudged Zane.

Zane sniffled. “Yeah?”

“Let's see that chin up.” Stiles encouraged.

Zane shook his head.

Stiles hooked one finger under Zane's chin and tilted his head up. There were tears in his eyes and on his cheeks. If Derek looked like Zane as a kid and looked like this when he cried, he didn't know how his parents survived. This was absolute _torture_. His green eyes were huge and there were small fangs poking out from under his top lip. His eyebrows were scrunched together in an effort not to cry, but it was clearly not working.

Stiles wanted to gather the kid up and rock him back and forth. So he did.

“Can I tell you something?” Stiles asked, with his cheek pressed to the top of Zane's head.

“Yeah.” Zane whispered.

“My mom died when I was pretty little. It was brain cancer. It made her say a lot of things she didn't mean, made her believe a lot of things that weren't true. But I believed them anyway. It took me a long time to understand that she was sick. And your parents aren't sick, I know, but this is about them and not you. You might be the smartest person around, but that doesn't mean that you can figure this out. They are the adults, you are their kid. Let them handle this.”

Zane wiped his nose on Stiles' shirt.

“Gross.” Stiles said.

Zane laughed.

“Ok?” Stiles said.

“Yeah.” Zane said.

“Let's make some macaroni and cheese.” Stiles said softly.

They were stirring together a questionable amount of cheese and noodles when Lydia came back to the house and Derek and Iman finally emerged from the room. Scott and Malia were in the backyard.

“Hey.” Iman said softly.

Stiles looked over his shoulder and flashed her a grin. “Hey there, good lookin'.”

“Whatcha got cookin?” She said and laughed. She pushed her hair off her shoulder and gestured to the backyard. “I'm still going to go for that run. Uh, do you want to-?”

“God, no.” Stiles said and laughed. “It's a rule of mine not to run with the wolves unless I have to.”

“Can I go?” Zane asked.

“Yeah.” Iman said. “Unless Stiles needs you.”

“Nope.” Stiles said. “Go on. When you two get home, it will be a feast fit for a queen and prince.”

Zane jumped off the table and they left through the backyard, taking Scott with them. Scott waved bye and Stiles rolled his eyes and waved back.

Derek had disappeared and Stiles wondered where he was, but he had to stay and stir the noodles because he wasn't going to ruin this dinner.

It didn't matter anyway, because Derek re-emerged from Iman's room with a toolbox in hand and put it away in the garage. When he was done, he went back into the back hall, and Stiles heard the shower turn on.

Derek came out just as Stiles was stirring the cheese mixture into the pan and getting ready to put it in the oven.

He leaned against the counter and watched Stiles and looked out at the backyard where Lydia was gesturing with her wine glass at something and Malia was laughing.

“I forgot.” Derek said.

“Seems like you forgot a lot of things today buddy,” Stiles said with a wink to take the sting out of his words, “Narrow it down for me.”

“I forgot what it was like for the pack to be here and just invade my space. I forgot what it’s like to have a full house and just be happy to be a part of it all, ya know?” Derek said. “And yeah, I forgot when Iman said that she would be home, but it's like, with your guys here, I'm not missing much. I've got Zane and I've got pack, and it's- it's good. You know?”

Stiles nodded and set the timer on the stove. “I know.” He said. “Is she ok?”

Derek nodded. “I think she was more upset about her wall than anything else.”

Stiles gave Derek a smile. “You're doing good here. You're like- a whole other person here. We can all see how happy you are and it's a good look on you.”

Derek bowed his head. “You look good too. All of you.”

Stiles smiled. “And Zane? Have you met that kid? He's amazing.”

“I've met him. Once or twice.” Derek said and laughed. “He is, isn't he? He filled in this missing piece of the puzzle that I didn't know I was missing. And Iman? She's like- she's a lot like Laura. They're both so tough and neither one of them needed me but they both wanted me around. It's nice, it's good knowing that there is someone who has your back.” Derek finished.

Stiles paused and looked away for a brief second. “We are here too, Derek. If you need us. All you have to do is call and unless we are tied up in someone’s basement, we'll come running.”

Derek's eyes were distant but his smile was there. “Thanks.”

“Quit being mushy. Let's go pretend we know what the ladies are doing at the grill because we are manly men and there is fire and meat.” Stiles said and thumped his own chest.

“Oh my god.” Derek said but turned and went outside anyway.

He didn't try to get in Malia's way. Instead he sat on a nearby retaining wall and watched Stiles steal the wine glass out of Lydia's hand. She smacked his hand away and he was forced to pour his own glass.

The steaks were done followed by the macaroni and cheese and still Scott, Iman, and Zane were not back. Derek was standing in the backyard, staring out at the rolling hills and the desert sunset.

“Is she usually gone this long?” Stiles asked, approaching Derek slowly.

Derek shook his head. “Not without calling.”

Stiles looked at Malia and Lydia.

“Can you call her?” Stiles asked.

Derek's eyes were opaque and his face was unreadable, even more so than back when he lived at Beacon Hills. He turned on his heel and marched into the house. He went to his closet.

“Friday!”

“Boss.” She replied.

“Locate Iman for me.” He said.

Friday was quiet for a moment and then rattled off coordinates.

“Is she in the desert still, Friday?” Derek asked and he jerked a bag out of his closet.

“No, sir.” There was a pause. “She is in abandoned warehouse off of 13th street.”

“How long?” Derek snapped. He pulled a gun out, slid a magazine into it before digging into the bag. Lydia pushed him aside and knelt by Derek and began to shift through the bag as well. She grabbed a gun, a baton, and three knives. She scooped a few things out of the bag as well and then Stiles got with the program. He knelt by Lydia and pulled out a two guns and as many magazines as he could fit in his pockets.

“Do you want anything?” Lydia asked Malia.

“I'm good.” She said casually.

“You don't have to do this.” Derek said to Stiles. “I know how this can be- I mean-” He sighed and pinched his nose. “I know that seeing the three of us together is difficult.”

Stiles looked at Derek. Of course he could guess. Zane and Iman probably knew too. “Derek-” He said and it came out half choked.

“It's ok. Stay here.” Derek said. “I can get them back.”

“Derek _no_ .” Stiles huffed. “They're your _family_. I can't let this happen.” He shook his head. “This- your family- not again. Not while I'm alive.”

“And they have Scott.” Lydia murmured.

“And they have Scott.” Stiles added.

Malia snorted. Derek gave him a small smile. “Let's go.”

“Do we have a plan?” Lydia asked.

Derek looked at her blankly.

“I'm gonna guess that Iman is the brains of this outfit.” Malia muttered.

They exchanged a look. “Ok, here's what we're going to do...” Lydia said.

***

“I told you that it was _Central_.” Lydia hissed at Stiles and glared at him.

“It's not Central, that's not what GPS said.” Stiles said and they both got out of the car and slammed the door.

“Ok, that's all fine and dandy,” Lydia said, “But really, Stiles? No _gas_? What the hell were you thinking?”

“Ok.” Stiles said and held up a hand, “If you could just shut up for five fucking seconds maybe we could figure out where we are and how to get to Tempe-”

Lydia yelped and stumbled behind Stiles when a man with pock marked skin and disturbingly small and white teeth showed up in front of them.

“Maybe I can help.” He said with an easy grin.

“Ha, I uh, think we got it. Right, Lydia?” Stiles said and Lydia didn't reply, but tightened her hold on Stiles.

“I've got a can of gas, just in here-” The guy said and flashed his distracting smile once more. “You are welcome to it.”

Stiles hesitated. “You sure? I mean, I can fill it up and bring it back-”

“Stiles, _no_.” Lydia said behind him.

“Shut up.” Stiles said.

“Yeah, come on.” The guy said and gestured to the door. Stiles followed and all but dragged Lydia in.

When they walked in, it was pretty much what they expected. Dirty, crawling with men who didn't look just untrustworthy, looked dangerous. There were three figures chained up behind them, two adults and a child.

“Ok, you know what?” Stiles said and his voice cracked as he began to backtrack and tried to push Lydia back out the door. “We can walk.”

“There something wrong?” The guy asked.

“No. Nope. Nothing. I didn't see anything. Nothing wrong. Just didn't want to interrupt your club meeting here with your friends and those three people chained up back there.” Stiles said.

One of them, the smallest one, started squirming and making pleading sounds and Stiles backed up even further.

Someone slapped the smallest figure and they went still.

“Ok.” Stiles said and nodded. “Did not see a thing. We can just go-” As he turned, one of the people slammed the door shut and Lydia buried her face in his chest. Stiles' arms went up automatically and held her close. “What do you want?” He asked.

“Well, we thought we were going to have to go out and hunt for something, but it looks like dinner was delivered.” A man said and stepped forward. He was in jeans and a t-shirt. His hair was dark and pulled away from his incredibly handsome face and friendly smile.

“Ok, look,” Stiles said and reached for his wallet. He threw it at the guy's feet. “Credit cards, money, everything. Her purse is in the car. Take the _car_. We won't say anything, just let us leave.”

There was a shadow in the top reaches of the warehouse but Stiles kept his eyes on the guy's chest, didn't dare look up.

“God, you _reek_ of fear.” One girl said and stepped in closer to Lydia and lifted a thick handful of her hair and brought it up to her nose. “These are going to be delicious, Ricky.” She said. Then she yanked Lydia away from Stiles and wrapped one arm around her waist. She lifted Lydia away easily and Lydia kicked out futilely.

“Don't start without us.” Ricky said and smirked at the girl.

“Fine.” She muttered but kept petting Lydia's hair. Lydia and Stiles' eyes met across the small distance. Stiles shifted from one foot to the other and ran his fingers through his hair.

“What do you want?” Stiles asked.

“We told you, dinner.” The guy said, smiling easily.

“Come on, man.” Stiles pleaded. “What do you want?” He asked again.

The shadows in the back of the warehouse were near the three figures in the back and then they were retreating once more.

“It's not as easy as you would think, finding something like you and your girl here.” The guy said.

“What, to _eat_?” Stiles asked and shook his head. “What do you want? I can get it for you, my dad-”

And then Lydia screamed.

The few windows that were left in the warehouse shattered and unfortunately, so did the light bulbs. Stiles pulled out the infrared glasses that Derek had pressed into his hand and watched as all the wolves dropped. Stiles whipped out his gun and began to shoot them one after the other, taking as many out as he could as Lydia continued screaming.

When she stopped, there were thirteen dead bodies on the ground but there were more approaching.

“That was pretty smooth, putting the ear plugs in when they thought you were messing with your hair.” Lydia said calmly as she pressed her back to Stiles'. “Did they work?”

Stiles pulled the ear plugs out. “What?” He asked. He handed her a gun.

“I guess so.” Lydia muttered and they took aim. The infrared glasses helped but they were only two humans against a pack.

Until there was a roar that shook the entire building.

“Sweet Jesus.” Lydia said.

“Should have left the ear plugs in.” Stiles added.

Derek and Scott came out of the shadows, swinging. Iman followed but she wasn't fighting.

She was _looking_.

Zane wasn't with them.

Stiles turned and kicked a body out of the way of the door and jerked it open. He saw the good looking guy throw Zane into the little red car he and Lydia had arrived in and then they were pulling out of the lot.

Stiles aimed and it took him four tries, but he took out a tire. The guy overcorrected and Stiles watched in horror as the car flipped and crashed into a mound of warped and rusted metal that was just off the road.

Stiles froze.

Zane was in that car.

And then there were three streaks coming out of the warehouse, one right after the other.

Scott and Iman were jerking the guy out of the car, Derek was kicking out a window and climbing in. When Derek came out, Zane was wrapped around him. His face was bloody and it seemed like there was a black eye that was healing.

“Oh god. Oh _god_.” Stiles whimpered and his legs went out.

Scott and Iman dragged the guy back to the warehouse.

“Hey,” Derek said and he was crying and Zane was crying and Stiles was pretty sure he had lost all ability to breathe. “Hey, we're ok. Everyone is ok.”

Stiles reached for Zane and pushed his hair out of his face and looked at him. “Are you ok?” Stiles whispered.

Zane nodded.

“Are you _ok_?” Stiles asked again.

Zane, tears spilling over his face, shook his head.

“That's ok.” Stiles said. He was reduced to such a limited vocabulary. He reached out and grabbed the back of Derek's head. He pulled him close and Zane clutched at the two of them. Behind them, they heard the guy start to scream.

Lydia and Malia stumbled out of the warehouse, both pale and soaked in blood. They collapsed near Derek, Stiles, and Zane and wrapped them up in their arms. They cooed and petted Zane.

“You screamed.” Zane said to Lydia.

Lydia nodded.

“Could you have killed them like that?” Zane asked.

“Not that many.” Lydia said.

Zane thought. “Still cooler than dad.”

Derek choked, tried to laugh, ended up crying, his arms wrapped around his son.

***

When Scott and Iman joined them back at the house, much later that night, they had a very large and imposing man with them. He was easily over six and a half feet tall, his skin was as dark as the night around them, and he made Derek's muscles look paltry.

Zane was thrilled.

“Atticus!” He screamed and dove for the man.

The man picked him up and nuzzled Zane's neck, petted his hair and rubbed his back. “I should have never let these two go without me.” He said to Zane.

“It's ok. They had friends.” Zane said and patted his cheeks, something that looked like a familiar gesture now.

“I hear that.” Atticus said and held Zane easily in one arm.

Stiles wanted to get up and greet him like a human with manners, but his legs were still weak from all the adrenaline and Lydia made up for him anyway.

“Hello.” She said and Lydia held out her hand.

“Lydia Martin.” Atticus said and smiled. “Heard so much about you and from what we saw, you are better than the stories.”

Lydia _blushed_. “Thank you. And your name?”

“Atticus.” He said. “My mom loved the book and I have suffered greatly over the years.” He said before she could comment.

“I'm going to go shower!” Scott shouted suddenly.

When Stiles looked at him, he was pale, and there were bits of flesh stuck to his face and hair. There was blood all over his face and neck and arms. His eyes were wide, terrified, and when he met Stiles' eyes, he just shook his head and left the room.

Stiles turned to Iman who was standing at the sink, washing her hands casually and pulling... _something_ out from under her nails.

“Malia Tate.” Atticus said and shook her hand. “Big fan of your work.”

Then he turned to Stiles and frowned.

“I thought you would be taller.” He said to Stiles.

Stiles frowned back at him.

Atticus laughed and sat down at the table across from Stiles. Zane settled in his lap.

“Who are you?” Stiles asked.

“The nanny.” Atticus said.

Stiles raised an eyebrow.

“Did you think they took Zane out on missions when he was three months old?” Atticus asked. “Of course not. He was my charge, my baby, my kid, until they came out here and I was given a different mission objective in South Dakota.”

“Oh.” Stiles said. He scrunched up his nose. “I guess that would be a bad idea.”

Atticus smirked. “Anyway, I got called back to HQ a couple of days ago and was sent out on cleanup for this whole-” He waved his hand around and then glanced back at Iman who smiled at him. It was ghastly. She was still covered in bits of flesh and blood and... things. “Thing.” Atticus finished lamely.

“Atticus really underscores his role at HQ.” Iman said.

Stiles had to look away from her.

“I'm here to offer you a job.” Atticus said to Stiles.

“Really?” Zane asked, eyes wide.

“ _Really_.” Atticus said, his eyes still on Stiles. “I spoke at length to Scott about it. He likes the sound of it.”

“He does?” Malia asked.

“There are worse jobs to have.” Atticus said philosophically. “You would be doing what you are doing now, but you'd get paid-”

“I'm in.” Stiles said. “I'm so in. I am all in-” Then he met Derek's eyes from across the room and they tracked Stiles' movement, his thoughts it seemed.

“What?” Atticus prompted.

“I don't want to step on anyone's toes. I mean. I don't want to cross any boundaries.” Stiles said.

“Why would you?” Iman asked.

“Where would we be living?” Stiles asked instead, studying the top of the table.

“That's a matter of discussion for a later time. After training. After your evaluations. Those of you who wanted in,” Atticus raised his eyes to Malia and Lydia who had yet to speak about the job offer, “Because it doesn't mean you all _have_ to take the offer, would be placed with a more experienced team, already set up, somewhere.”

Stiles let out a whistle. “Do we have to decide now? I would like to talk to everyone-” He gestured around, including Lydia and Malia.

“Sure, I would just need a decision before I go-”

“Zane!” The front door was thrown open and much to everyone's surprise, Isaac stumbled in. He took in the scene and paused.

“Isaac?” Stiles said.

“Stiles?” He asked.

“Does anyone want a beer?” Iman asked.

“Why are you covered in blood?” Isaac asked.

“Who's Isaac?” Atticus asked.

“Isaac's here?” Scott shouted from the back room.

“Derek?” Isaac asked, looking around.

“Who wants dinner?” Derek asked.

“Where have you _been_?” Lydia asked.

“Oh my god.” Malia muttered and sat down.

***

Stiles lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. The room was dark, Scott was a warm presence at his side, and the house was filled with deadly supernatural beings that could kill a person with a single blow. Lydia and Malia were in Zane's room, fast asleep. Isaac was asleep on the floor in the same room. Atticus was on the couch in the living room. Iman, Zane, and Derek were all in Iman's room.

Dinner, once they had pulled themselves together, had been a chaotic affair. There were additional trips to the grocery store, Atticus was a master of anything related to food, and the wine and beer had flown freely. Stiles had to admit that it had been the first time in a long time that he had been happy. When he saw the looks on Malia, Lydia, and Scott's faces, he saw his own unbridled joy reflected there as well.

“What are you thinking?” Scott whispered.

“What happened in the warehouse after we left?” Stiles asked. He couldn't get the picture of Iman, standing at the kitchen sink, pulling bits of flesh from her nails out of his head. Scott had been soaked in blood, but it looked like Iman had gone swimming in it. Malia had to help her wash her hair to get everything out of it. They were in the bathroom for close to an hour before they were done.

“Yesterday, when we showed up, remember how Iman said she took out two alphas for threatening Zane?” Scott whispered. Stiles felt Scott's warm palm and then Scott was holding his hand, something he hadn't done since he rescued Stiles years ago.

“Yeah.” Stiles whispered.

“I held the guy down and she rigged some chains up. There was some kind of history there. The guy had killed her grandfather because her grandfather refused to teach the guy any kind of magic. Said the guy had too much evil in him and Iman's grandpa wasn't going to help him along. The guy killed Iman's grandpa. He was the only one who had been kind to Iman growing up. So she- uh-” He cleared his throat. “The guy was trying to frame either Iman or Zane. Maybe even Derek.”

“What did she do?” Stiles whispered.

“She tore his fingernails off for starters. Then pulled out his teeth.”

“Jesus.” Stiles blanched.

“Then she skinned him alive.” Scott said.

Stiles tightened his hold on Scott.

“When Atticus showed up, she was wondering how much more he would survive. It wasn't just about Derek or Zane anymore. It was about the college kids he killed. It was about her grandpa. But Atticus got her to stop. He killed the guy.” Scott finished.

Stiles didn't know what to say to that, so instead he asked, “Why didn't Zane use his fire thing?”

“It reacts to his emotions, especially when they are heightened.” Scott said. “And the things they were saying about his mom, about what they were going to do to her, Iman wouldn't let him. She told him to wait for Derek. She was pretty sure that he would have set everything on fire.”

“Oh.” Stiles said softly.

Eventually, Scott slept.

Stiles slipped out of the bed and when he passed by the living room, Atticus sat up. Stiles waved him back down, grabbed his wallet and the keys to the Mustang and left the house. He had the key in the ignition and was about to turn it when there was a tap at the window.

Stiles looked up to see Derek. He rolled down the window.

“Hey.” Stiles murmured.

“Going anywhere in particular?” Derek asked.

“No.” Stiles said.

“Want some company?” Derek asked. His face looked soft and his eyes were a little tired, but the look in his eyes was open and honest.

“Yeah.” Stiles said and Derek climbed in.

Stiles really didn't have any particular destination in mind. It was dark and the city was surprisingly quiet. Derek didn't offer any suggestions, just opened the window and stuck his hand out, let the breeze pass over his hand. When Stiles looked over, he had his head leaned back and his eyes closed.

They ended up at an abandoned drive-in. Stiles rolled down all the windows and leaned back in his own seat, the big screen filling up most of their vision.

“What's on your mind?” Derek asked. He hadn't opened his eyes and only leaned back his seat.

“I was just thinking about everything.” Stiles said and ran the tips of his fingers on the steering wheel. “Just, you know. Our lives took a turn for the unexpected and that's quite the statement.”

Derek finally opened his eyes and looked at Stiles. “Tell me about it. I've got a _kid_.”

Stiles smiled. “You've got a family, dude.”

“Don't call me dude.” Derek said softly.

Stiles smiled. “What's Iman like?”

“It's hard to say, sometimes.” Derek said. “I know for sure that she's an amazing mother. I know that she doesn't share all the things she can do. I know that she's scared of some of the things she can do. She's mean. She can be cruel. She loves people with her whole heart.”

“Do _you_ love her?” Stiles whispered.

“Of course I do.” Derek said and offered Stiles his hand. Stiles laced his fingers through Derek’s and shivered at the warmth. “I have a kid with her. I've spent years with her. She's my best friend. That's like asking you if you love Lydia.”

“Lydia and I don't have a kid.” Stiles reminded him.

“Are you mad at me?” Derek asked.

Stiles chewed on his lower lip and traced the emblem on the steering wheel. “A little bit, yeah.”

“Do you hate Iman?”

“I tried.” Stiles said. “But- she might be all the things you said, what do I know? But at least she's honest about it.”

“What do you mean?” Derek asked. His fingers stroked the back of Stiles' and he warmed under Derek's touch.

“She might enjoy torturing people, but it's murderers. She might enjoy being cruel, but it's because it’s deserved. She's probably done bad things, but that doesn't make her a bad person.” Stiles paused and his eyes drifted up. “I guess I understand that. I understand being that way, thinking that way.”

“Hm.” Derek said but didn't otherwise reply.

“I loved you when you left.” Stiles said. He looked down and blinked at the steering wheel. It had suddenly gone blurry.

“I was a little in love with you when I left.” Derek said. “Everything. Your life. Your stupid habit of throwing yourself in danger. It was a big reason I left.”

“I don't- I don't understand.” Stiles said and hitched in a breath. “If you were in love with me-”

“I needed to take care of myself.” Derek said.

“Like, what? You weren't ready? You didn't think you were good enough for me?”

Derek huffed a laugh and looked over at Stiles. “Fuck you, I'm good enough for you.” He said. There was no malice in his voice but there wasn't a lot of joy in his words either. “You were just as broken as I was. You needed something solid and so did I. Neither one of us was ready or able to be that for the other one. I needed to fix me and you had to grow up.”

“Do you want this?” Stiles asked.

Derek looked out the window and then down at their hands. “I want you here with us. I missed you. Now that you grew up, now that I'm better, maybe we could be what the other needs, but-”

“But what?”

“It's still a mess. All of it. Everything is so messy.” Derek said. “My pack, yours, it could just break down.”

“I know.” Stiles said softly. “But what if it doesn't? What if it works?”

Derek looked over at him. “What if it does?” He wondered.

 

**_One Year Later_ **

 

“Arizona in August.” Lydia huffed and threw her bag down on the floor. “Fantastic idea, Stiles.”

“Fan-fucking-tastic.” Scott agreed and wiped his face.

“Why are you blaming this on me? We all decided we would come back here when training was done.” Stiles panted and threw his own bag down and laid down on the cool tile.

“Well, well, well. Look who decided to show up.” Iman said and peeked out of the kitchen. Her hair was piled up on her head and her cheeks were red. There was something cooking in the kitchen.

“They're here!” Zane screeched and the back door opened. He threw himself at Malia and knocked her over before climbing over her and then to Scott. He was bigger and Scott looked a little off balance by the sudden attack.

“About time.” Derek said, trailing after Zane, a smile on his face, and reached down to help Stiles up.

When Stiles was up and standing, Derek grinned. “Let me show you around the place.”

“I've got to take Zane to the waterpark.” Iman said suddenly.

“Can we come?” Malia and Scott asked immediately.

“Hurry.” Iman whispered and grabbed Zane out of Scott's hands, kissed Stiles on the cheek, grabbed a bag that was by the door, and left the house.

Lydia barely had time to grab her purse before Malia and Scott were pulling her out of the door.

“That's rather presumptuous of them. Like, what? We aren't two grown adults who can't keep it in our pants until a more appropriate time?” Stiles asked, staring at the door that swung shut behind Scott. When he turned around, Derek was taking off his shirt.

“Right.” Stiles said and pulled Derek close. “I guess they were right. Where's my room?”

Derek pulled Stiles down the hall and pushed him into a room with a large bed. It had a green coverlet on it but that was the only thing that he registered before Derek was pushing him down, pulling his shirt up and off, jerking his shoes off, then his own and finally getting rid of their pants.

Stiles was panting by the time Derek stretched himself out over Stiles.

“You didn’t even bother to show me around. Rude.” Stiles muttered and skated his hands over Derek’s torso. There were no scars like there was on his own and Stiles was fascinated. So much so that he flipped Derek over onto his back and began to explore every part of Derek with his mouth.

As he mouthed at Derek’s hip and the cut of muscle just above it, Derek reached down and ran his hands through Stiles’ hair, longer now than it had ever been.

“I’ve thought about you like this. Especially over the past year. When they told me that they were going to assign you to us- I-” Derek shook his head.

“Yeah, I know.” Stiles said and pressed a kiss over the quickly healing bruise. “I missed you too.” Then he ducked down and took Derek’s cock in his mouth and he treasured the way Derek hissed his name as he slowly took him all the way down.

After that it, Stiles focused on the litany of words coming out of Derek’s mouth and his curses before he pulled Stiles up and kissed him messily.

Stiles realized, when he saw a flash of red, that Derek was on the verge of losing control and couldn’t help but preen a little at that.

Noticing his smirk, Derek rolled his eyes and snatched up the lube. “Yeah, yeah. We all knew you were good with your mouth.”

Stiles wanted to comment back but then Derek’s fingers were gently massaging him and one slid in with only a little resistance. He looked up at Stiles and raised an eyebrow.

“Hey, you weren’t there-” Stiles started and gasped and arched his back when Derek found his prostate in one move.

“Were you saying something?” Derek asked and slid his finger out and another joined it.

No, Stiles decided that now was a good time to keep his mouth shut.

He was a jumble of mess and emotion when Derek finally pushed into him and held him still, while Derek got used to the warmth and the pressure and everything that screamed _Stiles_ at him.

Then he was moving and Stiles saw the moon and the stars and the universe as he came with Derek’s hand wrapped around his own dick. He heard some kind of prayer on Derek’s lips when he came and collapsed on top of him.

***

Much, much later he heard a soft voice whisper, “I want to keep you.”

Stiles pushed himself closer to Derek.

“I want to stay.”

 


End file.
